Craving the wrong brothe.., p.1
CRAVING THE WRONG BROTHER, page 1
CRAVING
THE
WRONG BROTHER
Secrets, Scars, and the Brother She Wasn’t Supposed to Love
Gill P. Wilson
Copyright © by Gill P. Wilson 2025.
All rights reserved.
Before this document is duplicated or reproduced in any manner, the publisher’s consent must be gained. Therefore, the contents within can neither be stored electronically, transferred, nor kept in a database. Neither in Part nor full can the document be copied, scanned, faxed, or retained without approval from the publisher or creator.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE 7
CHAPTER TWO 16
CHAPTER THREE 24
CHAPTER FOUR 33
CHAPTER FIVE 42
CHAPTER SIX 54
CHAPTER SEVEN 64
CHAPTER EIGHT 73
CHAPTER NINE 82
CHAPTER TEN 91
CHAPTER ELEVEN 99
CHAPTER TWELVE 105
CHAPTER THIRTEEN 113
CHAPTER FOURTEEN 121
CHAPTER FIFTEEN 130
CHAPTER SIXTEEN 138
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN 145
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN 151
CHAPTER NINETEEN 157
CHAPTER TWENTY 163
EPILOGUE 167
CONCLUSION 172
PROLOGUE
I’ve always believed there are moments that split your life in two.
The second before the kiss… and the one right after.
The second you say yes, even though you mean no.
The second you realize you’ve loved the wrong person all along.
I remember that kiss. The hallway was dark, the music was loud, and I was hiding from my feelings—like always. He didn’t ask. He just looked at me like I was something worth breaking rules for. And when his lips found mine, the air changed. I forgot who I was supposed to want. Forgot the boy who never saw me, and the version of me who kept waiting. But it only lasted a moment.
The next morning, he was gone. No text. No explanation. Just silence.
And I went back to pretending I’d never wanted him in the first place.
Now, three years later, I’m standing on the edge of another moment.
An invitation. A wedding. A weekend trapped in a house with the two brothers I should’ve stayed away from—one who never chose me, and one who kissed me like he did… then disappeared.
Noah Bennett was my best friend. My secret crush. My almost everything.
Liam Bennett was the mistake I was never supposed to repeat.
But Deepwater Creek doesn’t care about old secrets. And weddings, I’m learning, have a way of peeling back the parts of us we’ve tried hardest to bury.
By the time this weekend ends, I’ll either be free of both of them…
Or completely undone.
And the worst part?
A small, dangerous part of me wants to be undone, especially if it’s by the wrong brother.
CHAPTER ONE
The envelope was cream-colored, thick as velvet, and sealed with a golden “P” in the corner. It looked expensive. The kind of thing people sent when they wanted everything to look perfect, even if it wasn’t.
Amelia Hart stared at it on her kitchen counter for three days before opening it.
It wasn’t the invitation that scared her. It was everything it represented.
Lena Porter was getting married. Her best friend since high school. The girl who once dragged her through a snowstorm just to crash a senior party because “our future husbands could be there.” And now Lena was actually marrying hers.
The wedding was set in Deepwater Creek, a quiet town tucked between hills and secrets. Amelia hadn’t been back there in years. Not since everything with the Bennett brothers collapsed like a house of cards.
Now she was expected to show up smiling, in a satin dress, pretending she hadn’t once kissed the groom’s future brother-in-law in a dark college hallway.
And the worst part?
She said yes.
The train ride to Deepwater Creek was quiet. Amelia kept her headphones in, but no music played. She watched raindrops race down the window, faster than her thoughts could keep up.
Noah Bennett was going to be there. Her best friend. Her almost. The boy she’d loved since she was eighteen. The one who held her through breakups, brought her soup when she was sick, called her his “ride or die” — but never once looked at her like a woman he could fall for.
Three months ago, he called her out of nowhere.
“I need a date to Lena’s wedding,” he said. “My ex is the maid of honor. She’s bringing her new boyfriend. I need backup… and I miss you.”
She said yes because her heart still said yes to Noah, even when it shouldn’t.
But he wasn’t the only reason she was nervous.
There was Liam.
Noah’s older brother. The one who kissed her once and then vanished like it never happened. No goodbye. No call. Just a memory she kept locked away with all her other regrets.
She told herself it didn’t matter. She was over it. Over him. But even now, sitting in a slow-moving train with her hands wrapped around lukewarm coffee, her pulse ticked a little faster at the thought of seeing him again.
By the time she reached Deepwater Creek, the sun had started to dip behind the hills, throwing the town into a golden hush. Everything looked exactly the same — quiet streets, sleepy stores, wooden fences with peeling paint.
The Bennett’s estate wasn’t far from the station. It sat just outside town, tucked beneath tall oaks and lined with stone. A massive house dressed in white and shadows. It looked like something out of a magazine, or a memory you wanted to forget.
Lena met her at the door.
“God, you look amazing,” Lena said, pulling her into a hug that smelled like vanilla and new beginnings. “I can’t believe this is real. You’re really here.”
Amelia smiled. It felt fragile.
“I wouldn’t miss it.”
Lena held her at arm’s length, her smile dimming just slightly. “I know it’s a lot. All of this. But thank you for coming.”
Translation: I know he’s here.
Amelia nodded. “Let’s make it a weekend to remember.”
Lena grinned. “Oh, don’t worry. It already is.”
The house was full of flowers and soft music. People floated from room to room with wine glasses and half-spoken gossip. Noah found her before dinner.
He looked the same. Tall. Familiar. Safe.
His arms wrapped around her like coming home.
“You look beautiful,” he said into her hair.
She wanted to believe it meant more than it did.
“You clean up well yourself,” she replied.
They spent the next hour catching up. Laughing over old inside jokes. Sipping wine in the garden while the air turned cool. For a moment, it felt easy. Like maybe she hadn’t imagined everything between them. Maybe he’d finally see her.
Then he leaned closer.
“I’m glad you’re here,” he said, eyes soft. “Let’s give them something to talk about.”
Amelia froze. “What do you mean?
He smiled that familiar, boyish smile. “You, me, looking happy together. Just enough to make Clarissa a little uncomfortable.”
Clarissa. The ex.
The real reason she was here.
Amelia felt the smile slide from her lips. “So this is a show?”
Noah blinked, caught. “I didn’t mean it like that. You’re my best friend. I just want people to know I’m doing fine. With you.”
The words hung between them like frost.
With you.
But not for you.
Before she could answer, the air shifted.
A voice from behind them said her name like a warning.
“Amelia.”
She turned. Liam stood a few steps away, tall and broad, dressed in black, like the memory she never outran.
He hadn’t changed much. His jaw was still sharp, his eyes still unreadable. But something in his expression — the way he looked at her like she wasn’t just another guest — made her forget how to breathe.
He looked at Noah. Then back at her.
“So. We’re doing this again.” Amelia swallowed.
She didn’t know if he meant the wedding… or something else entirely.
CHAPTER TWO
For a moment, the air didn’t move.
Liam stood there like time had folded in on itself. His shoulders were broader now, his presence heavier. But his eyes... they still held that same cool intensity. The kind that made you feel like he could see through every mask you wore.
Amelia’s fingers curled around the wine glass in her hand.
“Noah didn’t mention you’d be here,” she said finally, her voice steady, even if her heart wasn’t.
Liam tilted his head slightly. “Didn’t he?”
Noah cleared his throat beside her, suddenly interested in the flowerbed.
“Liam’s just here for the rehearsal dinner,” he said. “He won’t be staying the whole weekend.”
Liam’s jaw tightened, just enough for Amelia to notice.
“I hadn’t decided how long I’d stay,” he said quietly, his eyes never leaving hers.
And just like that, the space between them turned thick with memory. The par
She’d spent months wondering why he walked away. And now here he was, speaking like no time had passed at all.
Dinner was a blur of lights, laughter, and conversations that skimmed the surface. Amelia sat between Lena and Noah at the long garden table, lit with soft golden bulbs strung through the trees. Every so often, she felt Liam’s gaze from the far end of the table — not constant, but deliberate. Like he was watching her reactions, measuring the woman she’d become.
Lena leaned in mid-meal, her champagne glass trembling slightly in her hand.
“You okay?” she whispered.
Amelia nodded. “Just tired.”
Lena gave her a look she couldn’t quite read. “You don’t have to pretend, you know. Not with me.”
Amelia wanted to tell her everything. About the confusion. The pull in her chest. The way Liam’s presence had cracked open a part of her she thought was sealed for good.
But Lena had enough on her plate. This was her weekend. So Amelia just smiled. “I’m fine.”
After dinner, Noah disappeared into a conversation with the groom, and Lena was whisked away by her wedding planner. Amelia found herself walking alone under the fairy lights, toward the back of the property. She needed air, and space, and a minute without someone asking if she was "with" Noah.
She wasn’t.
Not really.
Behind the rose bushes and trimmed hedges, she found an old stone bench facing the lake. She sat down, the cool stone grounding her, her fingers tracing patterns over her dress.
She didn’t hear footsteps behind her.
But she felt him before she saw him.
Liam. He didn’t speak at first. Just stood a few feet away, hands in his pockets, looking out at the still water like it held answers to questions no one asked out loud.
Finally, he said, “You look different.”
She looked up. “It’s been three years.”
“I remember,” he said softly.
The words stung more than they should have.
“You left,” she said, standing slowly. “You kissed me, then vanished. No message. No explanation. You don’t get to just… show up and act like it didn’t happen.”
Liam met her eyes. “It wasn’t that simple.”
“It never is,” she whispered. “At least not for the person left behind.”
For a long moment, neither of them moved.
Then Liam took a step closer.
“You were never the one I wanted to hurt.”
“But you did anyway.” He didn’t argue.
Because he couldn’t.
Later, back inside the house, Noah found her sitting by the fireplace in the main lounge. Guests had gone to bed, and the house had quieted to a low hum of night.
“Liam’s always been complicated,” Noah said, sitting beside her.
Amelia didn’t look at him. “Is that your way of defending him?”
“No. Just warning you.”
She turned to him then. “What exactly are you warning me about, Noah?”
He hesitated. “Don’t let him get in your head. That’s all.”
“Too late,” she said softly.
And when she stood to leave, Noah didn’t stop her.
But someone else did.
Just as she reached the hallway leading to her guest room, Liam stepped out of the shadows.
“I’m not here to play games, Amelia,” he said.
“Then why are you here?”
He didn’t answer right away.
“I didn’t come for the wedding. I came because I knew you would.”
CHAPTER THREE
Amelia had almost forgotten how quiet Deepwater Creek could be at night.
The silence wasn't peaceful. It was thick, the kind that carried whispers you didn’t want to hear. The creak of floorboards. The rustle of wind through tall grass. The memories of things left unsaid.
She lay in bed staring at the ceiling, her guest room wrapped in soft lamplight and shadows. Her suitcase sat unopened at the foot of the bed. Her dress for the bridal brunch hung neatly on the closet door. Everything looked perfectly placed. But inside, she was unraveling.
The next morning, the house stirred early. The wedding planner, June Holloway, was already marching around in kitten heels and a headset, shouting instructions in her breathy Southern drawl.
Amelia stepped into the hallway just as June pointed a clipboard at a florist.
“Hydrangeas on the arch, darling, not daisies. We are creating luxury here, not a picnic!”
She didn’t seem to notice Amelia slip quietly past her.
Downstairs, the breakfast room was flooded with sunlight. White linen, fruit platters, and fresh-baked scones. Amelia poured herself coffee and escaped out to the back veranda, where the view overlooked the lake and rolling hills.
She needed a minute before everyone else showed up.
But the minute didn’t last.
Noah joined her, hands in his pockets, looking too fresh for someone who stayed up past midnight.
“I missed you last night,” he said.
Amelia raised a brow. “You were busy.”
“I was trying not to ruin Lena’s wedding.”
“And Liam’s presence has that effect?”
Noah leaned against the railing beside her. “You know what he’s like.”
“I’m not sure I do.”
Noah looked away. “He messes things up. Always has. It’s his talent.”
Amelia took a slow sip of coffee. “You say that like you’ve never hurt anyone.”
His eyes snapped back to her. “I never hurt you.”
But the silence that followed said otherwise.
By late morning, the house buzzed with people again. Bridesmaids in robes. Laughter echoing from room to room. Camera crews setting up along the terrace.
Amelia stood at her bedroom window and watched Lena twirl in her bridal robe on the lawn, arms outstretched, face tilted toward the sky.
She looked happy.
But happiness, Amelia had learned, could be staged. Especially in Deepwater Creek.
The town had a memory like old wood — it held every scratch, every scar, and refused to forget where the damage came from.
She’d spent her childhood summers here, staying with her aunt. That house, now long sold, sat on the edge of Main Street like a faded photograph. Back then, the Bennetts were the family everyone admired. Wealthy. Polished. Picture-perfect.
Until the cracks started to show.
Amelia remembered the whispers. A business scandal. Something about the father. Then he was gone, and so was the smile in Liam’s eyes. People stopped talking openly. But in Deepwater Creek, silence always spoke louder.
She wondered what the town would say now — seeing her here again, standing between two brothers with history too tangled to explain.
That afternoon, she helped Lena with dress fittings in the sitting room. Layers of lace, pins, nervous jokes.
